National Youth Leadership Training - Overview

Overview

NYLT is run by youth leaders under adult supervision. The Youth Course Director runs course meetings and events, chairs meetings of the team leaders' meeting, delegates duties to other youth staff, assists the Course Director, models the learning and leadership skills, and recruits participants. Assistant Youth Course Directors assist the YCD, oversee audiovisual support, guide the service team, inspect campsites, and prepare a model campsite. Team Guides coach each day's team leaders and present selected sessions and activities. Adults perform administrative services and ensure guidelines are met including health and safety.

Participants are organized as a generic scouting unit. They are grouped into teams of no more than eight. A staff member, designated as a Team Guide, is assigned to each team to coach and mentor the team leader.

The NYLT program is conducted in a one week program, or it can be split over two weekends. NYLT courses are conducted at local council resident camps which provide the necessary facilities for a week-long course. Courses can range in size from 20 to 180 Scouts, generally forming one to four courses, with two to six teams in each. The content learned at any NYLT course is outlined in the national syllabus. It stipulates that, "Each of the core sessions outlined in the syllabus must be presented, with no additional content sessions" and that "The core sessions must be taught in the order that is laid out in the syllabus and with in the six-day time frame." Some councils nonetheless implement small variations in the material taught and may add in other events or special activities not required in the NYLT outline.